Hummus you can eat with a spoon

A mentor and close friend of mine often made me hummus (among other goodies) during my senior year of college, which was the hardest year of school for me, and her generosity and good cookin’ helped me keep on truckin’ through the year and finally make it to graduation. I’ve replicated the hummus as best I can — it’s my favorite kind of hummus, in my opinion, and it’s so good I sometimes eat it on its own, I’m not ashamed to say. Simple, in terms of ingredients — just the bare bones — chickpeas, olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, salt and enough water to make it really smooth. There’s a secret ingredient that I added in, the idea for which I took from Dreena Burton’s hummus in Vive le Vegan! My favorite way of eating hummus is with raw carrots. It’s become nostalgic for me to have carrots and hummus now, as they were a favorite snack of mine while I was in college. I’d just buy a big bag of carrots and bring my (or my friend’s) hummus with me to work, where I sat at the front-desk in the student center, and munch on carrots while I did homework (or, more likely, surfed Facebook).

Hummus

Note: if you’ve never made your own hummus before and rely on store-bought hummus, give it a try! I bet you’ll be amazed at how easy it is and how fresh it tastes (and you’ll save money too).

2 cups cooked chickpeas

5 tbsp. lemon juice

3 tbsp. tahini

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil (Dreena’s secret ingredient — no biggie if you don’t have any on hand, but it adds a really nice flavor)

1/2 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. water

black pepper, to taste (optional)

Blend all ingredients except water in a food processor until very smooth. Add water and process again. Serve cold.